


here, in your arms,

by moirails



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-08 18:12:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4315251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moirails/pseuds/moirails
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>you don't know what's going to happen when you leave this place, and for once, you're ok with that.</p>
<p>(summer camp au)</p>
            </blockquote>





	here, in your arms,

**Author's Note:**

> reuploaded + finished!!!

It's hot, unbearably so, sun beating down on your back, the overgrown grass is itching your knees as you trek along the winding trail, and you swear to god, you swear to god, you have never hated your mother than you do now.

She'd dropped you off in this hellhole, _Camp Alternia,_ only a day before, and already you were ready to jump off the nearest cliff. It's 10 in the fucking morning and they're already making you hike the way up to the mess hall, a mile long trail that does nothing for the sunburn you've already managed to get within the few hours of being at the damned place.

“A month, a month, that's all I have, just a month,” You mutter to yourself, grumbling and carrying forward, not caring that you're probably slowing the group down with the pace you're going. And then finally, when you think you're about to give up, about to sit your ass down in the dirt and let the bugs crawl on your rotting body, there it is: the mess hall, a ratty looking building hidden amongst the branches.

You're glad you're used to this kind of shit, because otherwise, you would've lost your appetite. The doors to the place open and you follow everyone inside, and fuck, it's really, really gross. You haven't even been assigned a cabin yet and you know that even those beat the looks of this (from what you can tell, at least). Your grumbling continues as you wait in line to get your breakfast (soggy ass eggs, gross milk, and a slimy looking piece of bacon), and then there you are, standing in the middle of the hall like a chump, wondering where you're going to sit. 

It's not until you notice something that is definitely not food crawling on your plate that you let out a shrill cry and jump back sharply, bumping hard into the person behind you and causing both of your trays to fly onto the ground. 

“Shit, fuck, there was a fucking bug on my plate, I-” 

Your mouth goes dry when you turn around and shit, she's pretty. She's grinning wildly, and she doesn't look mad or upset or anything, probably just laughing her ass off at how much of a fuck up you are. Fuck. Why does this shit even happen to you, you swear to god--

She pushes past you and gets another tray, not bothering to reply to you. Way to go, Serket.

.

The cabins are smaller and neater looking than the mess hall, that much is both expected and relieving. Not so much the smaller part, because confined spaces have always made you nervous, but you'll take what you get.

Tin roofs a strong metal outside is what make up the things, and god, if you aren't looking forward to the rain when it decides to come. Even the sound of someone knocking on the door makes your ears ring- it's going to be a long trip/

You're bunking with someone that's last name starts with an “L”. Not bothered to read the rest, you'd marched to your cabin, eight, apparently, and proclaimed loudly that you're taking the top bunk. The girl in question, shorter than you by far and not looking the least bit amused, raised a brow but did not question it, instead deciding to sent down on the bottom bunk. 

Hauling your stuff up the small ladder to the top is not an easy task, but when your suitcase is resting among the pillows, you feel a lot better. It's not the best, of course, the suitcase- you've had it since before you can remember, and you've hardly packed for the trip, there's so little clothes. _Whatever,_ you think, _I can just wash my clothes often, what's the big deal?_

A bell rings shortly after, and you're about to ask what's the deal, when from below you comes, “Bells signify that it is time to leave your cabin and go on to the next activity. According to the schedule – Have you checked it, by the way? - It's shower time.”

Rolling your eyes, you swing your legs over the railing and drop down in front of her, causing her to jump slightly and glare at you from behind her blonde bangs. 

“Do you have any manners?”

“No,” you grin, “Do you?”

She grumbles something you can't make out and then you're shrugging the whole interaction off, reaching up to the top once more to dig out a shirt and shorts from your bag and then you're there, on the way to the showers, wherever the hell they are.

_I swear to god if the showers are as far away from the camp as the mess hall is that's it, I'm not showering ever. Bullshit._

You're not sure exactly where you're going, just following in the footsteps of everyone else, so when a taller boy decides to stop in front of you, you bump into him and your things fall out your hands for the second time today.

“Watch where you're going, what the fuck?”

 

The boy frowns when he looks back at you, but he doesn't say anything, just stands there looking sad and confused, _like a puppy,_ you think.

“What the hell?” you mutter, about to push past him, because shit, is he blocking the whole fucking trail, but then he seems to snap back into it, because then he's hurriedly gathering up your items in hands and handing them to you, apologizing profusely.   
“I'm sorry! I just. Didn't know where I was going, and everyone is going like? Different ways now,” He trails off and lets out a nervous laugh that quickly turns into a sharp cough.

You eye him, narrowing your gaze, because shit, you don't trust boys more than you can throw, which isn't very far, considering your torn arm. He looks uncomfortable, good, and when you think he's going to turn and leave, he smiles brightly instead and outstretches his hand to you.

“My name's John Egbert, by the way! What's yours?”

Deciding that he must be pretty naive to still be talking to you, you let out a huff and decide to humor him, taking his hand and loosely shaking you arm. He seems satisfied with that, at least, because he's grinning bigger than he did, and actually, it's sorta cute. _Sorta._

“Vriska.” You reply shortly, trying your hardest to look both pissed off and amused at the same time. Gotta let others know how cool you are, and all.

“Oh. That's a nice name! I like it. Reminds me of my friend's name? It's kinda out there. His name's Karkat. I tried to drag him along to camp with me but he wasn't having it, you know how it is!” he starts walking again, walking alongside you this time instead of in front, and oh god, you're not going to get rid of him, are you?

“Do I know how it is?” you say in a monotone drawl, wondering how difficult you can be before he decides to fuck off.

“Ummm....I mean. You can imagine, can't you?” 

“Maybe, I guess. Alright.”

It's quiet for a few seconds, just the sound of your legs brushing through the grass, and then fuck it all, there it goes, your name is Vriska Serket and you are going to be Nice for once in your damn life, because you have a month in this place and you aren't going to waste it alone.

“I thought boys were separate from the girls here? I heard there was a strict No Touching Allowed policy.”

He lets out a sharp laugh, “You're kidding, right? I've already seen some people making out while here. Pretty gross, if you ask me.”

“Good thing nobody asked you, then.”

He laughs at that, actually throws back his head and laughs, and you nearly stop in your tracks because what the fuck? Who does that. Honestly, now.

“No, but seriously. The only times we are separate from each other is when it's cabin time, for obvious reasons. I mean.....I think it's kinda? Silly, to be honest. Some of us aren't even interested in that sorta stuff, you know?” He trails off, shrugging hugely.

You're about to ask what he means by that before you see a small building coming up ahead. He looks at you, smiles, and starts jogging to the entrance. If he expects you to race him or some shit, you're not going to go along with it. 

He waits patiently for you, holding the small screen door open for you to come inside. There's four curtains lined up on the far side of the room, and you're assuming that those are the showers, from the steam rising out from within them and the loud whirr of water hitting the ground.

Looking around, you see both boys and girls idly standing aside, waiting for their turn to enter into the stalls. It's cramped in the room and you hate it, especially with the heat radiating from the showers. It reminds you too much of home. 

John stands beside you, holding his clothes in his hands. After a second, he lets out a small sigh, “Yeah. There's only one shower building here? Sucks. So we have really random shower schedule so there isn't like, a huge line or anything.”

“You know a lot about this place?”

“Yeah. I've been coming here every summer since I was little,” He nods, “Pretty cool, right?”

You roll your eyes, hoping he's watching you. He's not so bad, though. You _guess._

.

The showers are hell. It's too cold, the breeze keeps making the curtains fly up so everyone gets a nice view of your naked legs, and the blue dye in your hair is washing out fast. By the time the camp ends your hair is going to look faded to hell, and the thought pisses you off.

John walks you back to your cabin, and when he sees your bunk mate, nearly loses his shit.

“Holy fuck! I didn't realize Rose was your bunk mate. We go way back. Hey, Rose!” He waves eagerly, and you swear to god the corner of her lips turn upwards. A smile, from the ice queen! What wonders John can do.

“Anyways, I'll see you later Vriska!” he gives you a high five (your side, albeit reluctantly, returns the gesture) and jogs off. 

That boy is a wild ride, for sure.

“I see you've met John.” Lalonde says, not looking up from the book on her lap. You roll your eyes but then remember she's not looking at you, so you make a scene of sighing dramatically and crossing your arms. 

“So what if I have? He your boyfriend?” 

That's when she looks up at you and she _laughs._ Actually laughs. You're so surprised your expression nearly drops. 

“I'm gay.”

And that's when you decide that you're never going to try to one up her ever again.

.

Apparently, Rose has a thing going with someone named Kanaya, and everyone knew this shit except for you. You wonder when you're going to stop embarrassing yourself. It's only been a day and you're racking up the score for _How Much Of A Fool Vriska Serket Can Be._

You may or may not be exaggerating on that part. Rose actually invites you to sit with her when lunch rolls around. You follow her quietly to her table, sitting next down to her as she starts the introductions.

“Vriska, this is Jade and Kanaya. Jade and Kanaya, this is Vriska,” Rose gestures to a girl sitting across from her with long hair (who you're guessing is Jade from the 'jade' emblem on her shirt), and a girl in front of you with short hair, who is most definitely Kanaya.

“A pleasure to meet you,” Kanaya says, outstretching her bracelet clad hand to meet yours. What's the deal with handshakes here? Not wanting to fuck up things with Rose, you meet her hand and give her a proper handshake.

Lalonde nods out of the corner of your eye, and you can tell you did good. Nice job, Serket.

“Yeah. Cool.” You give a small wave to Jade, who returns the wave in full.

The conversation continues but you're too bored to listen in, instead focusing on the girl from earlier, who's sitting across the room from you, next to a boy with sunglasses on (boyfriend? You hope not) and a girl who's fucking. Wearing cat ears.

You're about to ask who they are when John plops down next to you, causing the table to shake a little. He says hello brightly to everyone, and they all return it with equal enthusiasm. Lalonde must think what happened earlier is fucking hilarious, because then she's retelling it, and you swear to god your face better not be red or you're going to Mcfreaking Lose It.

“Oh man! You thought me and Rose. Oh my god.” John shakes his head like he can't possibly believe you could come to such a conclusion. In your defense, it was a reasonable conclusion to make. How the hell were you supposed to know?

Kanaya hides her smile to not embarrass you further. Thank god for Kanaya. You're sure Lalonde would agree, what with the way they've been eyeing each other across the table the whole damn time. You should point this out so then they'll be the embarrassed ones. Yeah, that'll show them.

Instead, you enjoy the company around you, and you feel pretty ok.

.

The flame flickers softly in the night sky, embers trailing upwards and disappearing into nothing. The heat doesn't reach you though, not really, when you're alone on the log, splinters forming into your skin, your palms outstretched on the cold wood.

And the memories start.

They rip their way from the back of your mind and push forward into they're all you can think about, the hunger, hunger deep in your core, because fuck, it's been a few days and there's still no food in the fridge because your mom spends her money on _more important things, Vriska. You wouldn't understand._

And then there you are again, snatching from stores, because you don't go to school anymore, dropped out because what's the point, what's the point when you keep failing because you're too hungry to think? When you're too tired to do your homework, when you physically cannot make yourself do anything, and then, near the end of your school days is when the questions about your bruises started to form.

What's that, they’d ask, curiously poking at you, and you'd flinch, scurry away, make a bullshit excuse about how you tripped and fell. Tripped. Because that's the way it happened, right?

You still feel your mother's hands on you and you want to scream, want to bury the memory deep down, because you hate it, hate it when she hurts you like that, but you can't say anything against it, you just _can't._

Your fingers press hard against the wood and you start to shake, and shit, shit not here, don't do it in front of everyone, don't--

A stick with a marshmallow perched on its tip prods you gently in the side. You nearly jump out of your skin, and when you turn and nearly yell at the person who's doing it, you wish you could.

“Take it, come on,” She says, like you're best friends, like you didn't ruin her breakfast just the morning before. She's still as pretty as ever, but she looks gentler now, like she's handling something fragile. 

Not knowing what else to do when she's looking at you like that, you pluck the marshmallow from the stick and stuff it in your mouth, chewing hesitantly. It's burnt to hell, but it's good, and more importantly, it drops you back down into reality.

She watches you for a second before she smiles a little, “See? Isn't that much better. Marshmallows can cure all the problems in the world, if you let them.”

You don't know why it annoys you but it does, so you snap, “What the fuck are you talking about?”

She's taken aback slightly, not expecting the response, but then she quickly recovers, shaking her head a little and stabbing another marshmallow out of a bag she has clutched in her fingers.

“Dunno. You just looked lonely, is all,” she shrugs, “say, why are you alone, anyways? I thought I saw you hanging out with Rose earlier.”

“Ditched me for _Kanaya_ ,” you grumble, nearly snarling the name, because in all honesty, it pisses you off, pisses you off real bad. What the fuck? How come she had to go and hang out with someone else after you thought she was your friend, whatever that word means. You should've known. Should've known she'd do it. It always happens. You always get abandoned, in the end.

“I'm not fucking lonely,” you grumble, “so why don't you just leave me the fuck alone?”

She doesn't expect that, either. You're full of surprises tonight. She's quiet, roasting the marshmallows in the fire, still, and before she can get up and leave, you quickly follow up with, “Sorry. I'm just. I dunno.”

She seems to understand, because she stays there, and then after a few seconds, “S'okay.”

It's bonfire night and you just had to go and be a total chump. It's silent again, but the silence is a comfortable kind, and you're starting to calm down a little. 

“Hey, I didn't catch your name,” you ask eventually, wondering why you hadn't asked sooner, but then yeah, right, you hadn't had the chance before now.

“Terezi Pyrope. Nice to meet you, Vriska!” she snaps her teeth, “Rose sold out your name, sorry.”  
“Huh.” You mutter, stretching in your seat slightly, “Figures.”

She shrugs, “Not really a big deal. Everyone knows everyone around here.”  
“So you've been here for a long time now, too?”

“If you mean every summer, then yes. A lot of us have been.”

“Great. Just what I need. A bunch of assholes who know each other.” 

“Not all of us are assholes, for example. John is pretty cool. You already knew that though, didn't you?” She elbows you playfully, like she's in on something you're not. You sputter when you realize what she means. 

“Oh, gross! Me and John are not a thing. You're disgusting for implying that. Disgusting.”

She lets out a shrill laugh, and you swear everyone in the camp turns to look at you two. When the laughter dies down and she regains her composure is when she asks, “Where is he, anyways?”

“Had to help with the little kids or something, fuck if I know. I didn't even realize there were fuckin. 13 year olds who came here.”  
.  
“Well I mean, it ranges, but yeah.” She sneers, “There are 'fuckin 13 year olds who come here.'”

“Fuck off,” You say, but smile anyways, “You're not too bad, Pyrope.”

If you calling her that bothers you, she doesn't mention it, just smiles back at you.

.

Every now and then, you'll see Pyrope and she'll wave at you. You're not really sure why you haven't properly interacted with her since then, but you guess it's fine, because you're bound to end up as partners eventually.

A few days later and everyone's going swimming. You follow John to a more secluded area, the noise bothers me, he'd explained, and then you both ended up just sitting down on the pier, legs dangling in the water, and it's peaceful. You like it. You like him.

“How do you like it here so far?” He asks you, pushing his glasses up on his nose. You watch him, and after a second, you say, “I mean. I've only been here for like a week or so? But hell, it's not so bad.”

“That's good.”

Who would've known summer camp would involve so many comfortable silences? You've always thought they were horrible, but they're nice, when with the right people. You could definitely get used to it.

You talk for a while, just the two of you, until it gets dark, and he tells you that he has to head back to his cabin before his bunk mate decides to steal his shit. You say your goodbyes, and then he's gone, and you're alone once more.  
Damn it, this will not be a repeat of the bonfire night.

Luckily (unluckily?), before your thoughts can wonder, something hits your back and you splash into the lake below. Water seeps into your lungs before you can stop it, and thank god you know how to swim, because you reach the surface and start coughing really hard. You are going to kick someone's ass.

You're about to pull yourself back onto the pier when you look up and see Pyrope laughing loudly, and before you can ask her what the fuck she thinks she's doing, she dives in next to you with a loud splash. 

“Pyrope, what the fuck--”

Water promptly splashes in your mouth as she splashes you. You cough loudly and spit it out instantly, glaring at her as she wades in the water. Before you can go on a rant though, she swims over to you and gets close enough that she could easily kiss you. You think of it briefly, closing the distance between you both, before you decide against it.

“Come on, Vriska. Have some fun for once,” She dunks her head underwater and pops back up a second later, mouth full of water that she spits out at you.

_You're lucky you're cute._

“Am I?”

“Yeah,” You say, not realizing that you said it out loud, but too late to go back now, “Yeah. You're lucky you are.”

“Such a charmer,” Pyrope grins, but heat rises to her face anyways. 

.

Pyrope brought towels with her, thank god. She must've known her plans to push you in, because she also brought an extra shirt with her.

“Why'd you push me in, anyways?” You ask once you've wrapped the towel around your shoulders.

“Looked lonely. Isn't that always the case?”

“Fuck off.”

“You say that a lot, don't you?”

You shrug and push her gently to the side while you slip your shoes on (which you had taken off long before getting near the water). She laughs, know she's won whatever little game you both have been playing.

She stands there, watching you, and you do the same, and you swear, you swear to god, you're going to kiss her. That is, if you hadn't felt a sting and looked down to see a fucking snake on your leg.

Letting out a scream, you fly backwards, nearly toppling over into the water again, and Pyrope's laughing her ass off, scooping the snake up and holding it up in the light towards you.

“What the fuck! Put that thing the fuck down, I swear to god,” You're shivering out of fear and you stomp away from her momentarily to catch your breath. When you get back, she's still laughing, but the snake is no where to be found. Thank god.

“It was a garden snake. It liked you.” The moonlight makes her red hair glimmer slightly. It's nice. You still want to kiss her.

“Whatever. I bet I'm poisoned.”

.

The path winds and turns at strange places, and if you weren't following John, you know that you'd be lost by now. It's dark out, and after two times too many of almost tripping over a few branches, he grabs your hand in his and leads the way.

“Wait, John, hey.” You stop him and let go of his hand as you crouch down and pick up the spider you spotted in the shadows.

He jumps back slightly before he scrunches up his brows, “I thought you were scared of bugs? I thought the first day you were here--”

“Spiders aren't bugs. They're arachnids. And they're cool as hell.” 

He looks down at the spider, inspecting it slightly. He narrows his eyes after a moment, and then gives a curt nod, “It's our son now. Let's name him John Jr.”

You smile at him and wonder how you got so lucky finding a guy like him.

.

You get a phone call and you don't know what to think. When you heard that it was from your mom, you weren't expecting it to be good, but this, you don't know how to feel.

_Kicked out._

That's what you are. You always dreamed of the day you'd leave that hellhole, but now, when you're alone in your cabin trying to fight back the tears, all you feel is scared. No home. No place to go after you leave the camp.

You're sobbing into your knees on the floor when John comes in, and then he's at your side almost instantly – _Vriska, Vriska, are you ok?_ \- and no, you're not, you're not ok at all, because you have no place to go and you don't know what to do.

You think you tell him this, you're not sure, but then he's holding you in his arms and you are scared scared scared, so you do the most logical thing and press your lips against his.

Pulling back almost instantly, confusion is what you see on his face, confused, confused, confused, and you guess you are, too, because you don't like John. You tell him this in a rush, tell him that you like Terezi, tell him you don't know what you're doing, and you tell him you're homeless.

“Vriska, it's alright, it's alright,” He holds you tighter to him, pats your back softly, whispers that it's alright, alright, alright.

You think you start to believe him, because then your heart stops racing and you stop crying as much. After a long pause, “I'm sorry I kissed you. I don't know....I don't know.”

“It's alright. Trust me. It's ok.”

It's quiet again, not really a comfortable silence, this time. How you miss those. 

“I'm aromantic.”

You look up at him, and this time, you're the one who's confused, and then he explains, “I don't feel romantic attraction to people. But I do like you. In a platonic way. I want to be your aromate. I like? Care about you a lot and I think about you all the time and I want you to be alright. In a platonic way, though. You know? Do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah. I think I do,” you say, because you've heard of it before, a long time ago when you were back in school. You're quiet again, him holding you still, and then you say, “I think I feel the same way about you, too.”

And that's that.

.  
Fourth of July comes quick, and you have no idea how anyone managed to sneak fireworks into the camp, but that's exactly what they did. 

You lay down on the grass near Pyrope, hoping that she'll come over. John tagged along with his friend, Strider, and Lalonde and Kanaya were split off somewhere else. Eventually, when the fourth firework shoots off into the sky, Pyrope makes her way over to where you're at.

“Lonely, again, are you?” 

“Not even,” you roll your eyes, “I've been waiting for you to meet me over here.”

“Really?” She says, scooting closer to where you're sitting, and “Yeah,” you reply. You lay down, on the blanket you brought, and she does too, and then you're just talking, talking about everything under the sun, watching the fireworks together.  
“I like you,” She whispers when the eighth firework goes off, and when you build up the courage, you lean over and you kiss her.

Her hand goes to the back of your head, pulling you closer gently, and then you're kissing, kissing, kissing, and you never want to stop. When you do pull away it's natural, and you smile brightly, a toothy grin you've never made before.

“Yeah, I guess I like you too.”

.

The bunks are hardly big enough for one, but after some accommodating, you end up pressed against Pyrope, uncomfortably pushed against the wall with your leg trapped between Pyropes. It's cramped, sure, but it's worth it, lying next to her.

They'd stopped checking the bunks weeks ago, so getting caught is no problem at all, so you're relaxed for the most part. You're in her bunk, the top one, like yours, and her bunk mate is underneath you both, talking quietly to some sweaty chump named Equius.

The only thing you managed to grasp from their relationship is that it is similar to yours and Johns, except ten times more annoying. Cat girl, Nepeta, as Pyrope corrects you, loves to play with her stuffed animals, role playing or whatever. She can literally stay up at all hours of the night talking to the damned things, it's unnerving. Or maybe you're just being an asshole.

_Stop being so mean,_ Pyrope tells you constantly, s _he's honestly really sweet._ You'll grumble and say, hey, at least when I role play I do it in a cool way, to which she'll reply with something snarky like, _is role playing ever cool?_

Pyrope fans her fingers on your back and you grin, leaning down to kiss the corner of her mouth, which is all you can reach from this angle. She giggles softly, and then you are too, laughing like a total tool, quietly though, because you're pretty sure cat girl's asleep and you don't want to wake that up.

“I'm glad we're together,” she whispers, and you agree, still smiling, and that's when you figure it might be too late to avoid falling for her.

.

Storms at the camp don't happen often, but when they do, you're usually stuck in the mess hall to wait it out. On this particular night, though, you're in Terezi's cabin, having decided to skip dinner and hang out with her, instead. It's quiet, despite the storm, and when there's quiet, the memories drift back up into your thoughts.

The lightning cracks, stark white against the dark sky, thunder rolling in the distance. A voice presses up from behind the storm – _Vriska, are you alright?_ \- but you're not there, not in that moment, you're back in that bedroom, back huddling in that dark corner, back pressed against the wall, waiting for the rain to let up, because there's a hole in your roof and it's cold, cold, cold.

A hand gently touches your shoulder, and you flinch, _hard,_ causing the hand to retract swiftly. The hand soon returns, however, and when you feel the gentle palm against your tensed muscles you slip away from the memory. Your heartbeat retreats and your eyes adjust to the world around you- you are here, you are safe. You tell yourself those words over and over until they sink in.

The hand drops from your shoulder to your hand, and when her fingers find yours in the darkness, she gives a gentle squeeze. You're ok, you are here, you are safe. You shakily let out a breath you didn't realize you'd been holding. She must realize that you're still not doing too great, because she scoots closer to you, until your sides are touching, and then, “Hey, hey, look at me,” she says, when you don't know what's happening, when the room is spinning again, when tears are dripping from your face and you can't breathe _can't breathe can't breathe--_

Panic seeps into your brain and then you're back there again, she's raising her hand, she's slapping you and kicking you and you're on the ground and you can't breathe, you swear you can't, not when air is being pushed from your lungs with each kick she delivers to your ribcage. You wonder when it will end, when things will get better, when things will--

“Vriska, vriska, look at me,” Pyrope's hands are on your face, she's cupping your cheek, and then her forehead is against yours and she's the only thing you can see. When your breathing slows is when her hand leave to grasp at your hand again, and she won't let go, and you're ok with that, you're ok with that. 

She stays there a little while, and you don't mind, the rain is pouring harder than it was, beating against the tin roof, and you're still scared, so you bump your nose against hers and close your eyes tightly, trying to bring yourself to let it go, let it slink back into the back of your mind, maybe get rid of the memories, all of them, let Pyrope's easy puffs of air from her lips vanish those demons.

She whispers that you're going to be ok, that it is ok, that she's there for you. You nod, agreeing with her, even if you don't fully believe it yourself. It's going to be ok, she repeats sternly, pulling away from you completely but not loosening her grip on your hand, and you're glad, because you don't know what you'd do if she would let go.

“I love you, Terezi,” you breathe suddenly before you can stop yourself, and then there it goes, you're crying again, shaking from the cold, from the memories, from the shock the confession brings you. She's at your side again in a heartbeat, pressing herself against you for comfort, and you smile despite your crying, because shit, nobody has ever tried to help you this much in your damn life.

I love you, she says, like she means it, because she does, you think, you think she does mean it. You're still crying but you're relieved, so relieved, because the weight lifts from your shoulders and now you aren't thinking so hard about the memories anymore, just dropping back down into this place, where you are, where you're sitting next to her and she loves you back.

When you're finally, finally done crying, when you've stopped shaking and are done squeezing the life out of her hand, you sigh deeply and shake your head a little, because it's time to talk about things you didn't want to talk about, but maybe it's ok to talk about them now, maybe. A comforting silence fills the room and you stay there like that, her against you, the rain not letting up, and every now and then, the crack of lightning.

It takes some persuasion from her side (slight shuffling, a gentle clear of the throat), but then it's all flowing out of your mouth, why you're scared, why you never wanted to go home, but now that you don't have one, suddenly things are a lot harder than you thought they'd be.

“I can't go home. I mean, I. I don't have a home anymore,” you tell her quietly, when the rain has stopped beating down so hard, when you can finally think clearly without the thud thud thud against the roof.

Her face scrunches up gently, and she's so, so pretty, even when she makes expressions like that, you wonder how you're so lucky. It takes her a moment to process, but then, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don't have a home. Like, my mom kicked me out. And you know, maybe I didn't really? Want to go home,” you shift a little, squeezing her hand again, avoiding her gaze, “i dunno. And. She used to like? Hit me and stuff. And,” another shift, and you can't avoid her gaze, this time, “there are times where i'm like, shit. I wanna run away, but there's just. Nowhere to go, I guess.”

She won't stop looking at you now, concern dripping from her face, and you guess if she were the one telling you all this, you'd be concerned, too. You don't know what you expected to get from telling her all this, really, but it sure as hell wasn't what she says next.

“Move in with me,” She tells you quietly, quickly giving you a kiss, “Move in with me, babe.”

She calls you babe like you couldn't possibly be named anything else. It makes you melt. You're shocked though, dazed from everything that's already happened, “Move in with you?'

“Move in with me,” She repeats, nodding sternly, “Seriously. My mom's would be fine with it, i've already told her a little bit about you. And my dog, too. I bet he'd love you. Plus, I'm going to introduce you to all my scalemates and there's nothing you can do about it!”

She's grinning, the same grin she gave you the first time you ever met her, a wide thing that makes her eyes crinkle slightly. And that's how you know she's serious about this, and then shit, you're grinning too. 

Her arm slinks around your waist, pulling you into another kiss, and you think, if you could get to be with her every day like this, then that would be better than anything you could've ever imagined.  
.

Summer camp winds down to an end and you're going to miss everyone. You've never had friends in all of your seventeen years, and for once, you truly feel like you're at home.

On the last day, John picks you up and spins you around, laughing loudly. You guess you might be laughing, too. You love that boy. He sets you down gently back onto the floor, telling you that he'll name a spider after you. Make that eight, you shoot back, and he pretends to be mad at you, something he can never actually achieve.

“I'm gonna miss you, Johnny boy,” You dramatically put a hand to your head, “Whatever will I do without your pranks?”

“Die, probably.” He winces at his choice of words almost immediately, “Er. Don't die. I promise we will meet up and prank some more soon.”

And then you hug one last time and that's that. 

Terezi's sister is the one who picks you both up, and Terezi must've explained the situation beforehand, because she greets you warmly and tells you _hey, your shoes are rad._ You must've learned some manners on your trip, because you grunt out a thanks and hop into the backseat, outstretching your legs and letting out a soft sigh.

As the car engine starts is when the tears start to fall. You're looking out the window, out at John, who's looking like he did when you first met him, grinning that same grin, a sparkle in his eye. Rose waves gently, her other hand in Kanaya's, and it makes you happy. Happy. _There's a new one._ You think that, from now on, things are going to be like that. Happy.

Terezi slips her fingers into yours and you're going to be alright, you know it for sure now. You don't know what's going to happen when you leave this place, and for once, you're ok with that.


End file.
